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From the left: Jonathan Smith '08, Jeni Magana '08 and Jeff Fettig '09 were among the revelers at the New York alumni holiday party at Webster Hall.

Emily Dufresne

From the left: Saxophonists Chris Alpiar '94 and Ray Boland '81 were among alumni jamming at the Atlanta alumni holiday party at the Apache Cafe Nightclub.

Mimi Bond

In celebration of the recent holiday season, annual alumni parties held in December brought great networking opportunities and fun for alumni in Berklee's five alumni Centers (Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Atlanta).

At the Felt club in Boston, alumni played pool while catching up with old friends and making new ones. At Webster Hall in New York, the festivities were also full of excitement as alumni shared their original music with one another. And at Apache Cafe in Atlanta, an impromptu band blew the roof off with spontaneous arrangements of r&b favorites.

But holiday parties aren't the only source of excitement for the Berklee community, which has been abuzz regarding some recent developments. Topping the list is the rollout of graduate programs at the Berklee in Valencia program in Spain. In the fall of 2012, Berklee will launch three master's degree tracks in contemporary studio performance; scoring for film, television, and video games; and global entertainment and music business management. These offerings mark the first master's degrees to be offered in the college's history.

A second item on the list is the scheduled construction of Berklee's new building at 160 Massachusetts Avenue, which should be complete by 2013. The 16-story structure will include a 400-seat dining hall that will double as a performance venue and recording studios as well as other music technology spaces. One of the most exciting aspects of the new structure is the available dormitory space for 370 students, which will enable the college to house all entering students for the first time. For more details on these Berklee happenings, plus specifics on upcoming alumni programming and events, check out the new monthly Berklee Alumni Affairs e-newsletter. To receive it, confirm that the Office of Alumni Affairs has your most up-to-date email address at alumniaffairs@berklee.edu.

Finally, below is a list of the recipients of the 2011-2012 alumni grants. We extend congratulations to all for their meaningful community service through music.